Maloney touts infrastructure, veterans programs in chamber speech

Friday

Apr 19, 2013 at 12:50 PMApr 19, 2013 at 12:53 PM

James Walsh

TOWN OF WALLKILL - U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney addressed issues of concern to veterans, farmers, and all those using the region’s roads and bridges at Friday’s breakfast meeting of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.He said his positions on the House Agriculture Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee would permit him to work on matters of importance to the Hudson Valley’s quality of life and business.“The point is to be useful, to focus on practical, doable projects,” Maloney, a Cold Spring Democrat, told an audience of about 150 people at the West Hills Country Club. “That’s what I’m focused on in Washington.”Maloney is also a member of an unofficial Capitol Hill group, the No Label Problem Solvers. The 50 bipartisan members of Congress seek to find common ground on issues of the day.“I’d like to see Congress stop being part of the problem and be part of the solution,” Maloney said of the gridlock in the legislative branch. “I do believe we need to balance the budget. I do believe we need to reduce spending, but it has to be done the right way.”He opposes cuts to programs that maintain the nation’s infrastructure, a concern in the Hudson Valley, where a new Tappan Zee Bridge is slowly becoming a reality, where upgrades to runways are planned at Stewart International Airport, and where numerous dams have been found to be in substandard condition.“The economy depends on it,” Maloney said of a sturdy infrastructure.While answering an inquiry from the audience about veterans benefits, Maloney spoke of his Disabled Veterans Red Tape Reduction Act. It aims to cut a backlog of almost 600,000 veterans waiting to have their disabilities assessed by Veterans Administration physicians. The legislation would preserve the ability of veterans to be examined by private doctors. That rule’s due to expire at the end of the year.“You shouldn’t fight for your country and then come home and have to fight the government,” Maloney said as applause filled the dining room.On the agricultural front, Maloney spoke of his proposed bipartisan CROP Act, which would offer insurance reforms to include the producers of specialty crops that are growing in popularity across the Hudson Valley.Education was on the mind of Robert Hubsher, executive director of the Ramapo Catskill Library System. “Innovation is moving off-shore,” said Hubsher, who wanted to know what government is doing to improve America’s aptitude in math and science.Maloney said he supported New York’s plan to create 10 technical centers around the state, and he advocated placing one in the mid-Hudson region, more specifically on the west side of the river.The centers are intended to align educational programs with the needs of businesses.jwalsh@th-record.com